The invention pertains to fire fighting and particularly to a means for permitting a fire hose to lie slack while the fire truck unrolls the hose on the way to the site, and then permits the hydrant to deliver full pressure to the hose subsequent to arrival of the truck without requiring a fireman to remain at the hydrant to open the hydrant valve.
Applicant has also filed two other applications, Ser. Nos. 636,556 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,421 and 722,709 for devices which are variously installed in the fire hose or at the fire hydrant. One of these devices is a valve controlled either by a conventional timer or radio control unit to open the valve subsequent to the attachment of the valve with hose to the hydrant. The other of these inventions pertains to a unique erodable element disposed in a special housing in the hose coupling and which is destroyed by the water after a period of time to permit full flow, the remains of the destroyed disc being being blown out the end of the hose.
A pressure regulator valve operating on a principle similar to applicant's valve is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,097,879. This valve would not work in the present application, not only because of its delicacy, but also because it lacks the two distinct modes of operation necessary in the instant valve.
The radio or timer controlled model described above represents the most sophistocated of the line but is not only quite expensive, but is rather complicated and thus subject to a certain amount of unavoidable human error and malfunction. This unit would also be inappropriate for small fire companies operating on a limited budget. The errodable disc was developed for these small companies, and as the disc requires replacing after every use but the adaptor coupling is simple, it is ideal for small fire companies which do not have many fires because of the minimal expense involved. However applicant felt there is a need for an intermediate device which although being more sophistocated than the errodable disc, is simpler, less expensive and most of all less subject to occasional human error than is the more complicated radio controlled model.